Busy taking care of the little things

While my husband finished up his work rehabbing our irrigation system, I got rolling on the garden projects I'd long had on hold.

Replacing our main water line turned out to be just the first step in dealing with our irrigation system.  My husband ended up replacing several valves, as well as numerous sprinklers, too.  He blamed soil and asparagus fern roots for plugging up the system's operation.  The bricks are meant to protect that from happening again.  Now I need to replant the area to hide the homely plumbing without interfering with it.

Our temperatures have been up and down.  More often than not, I've confined my activities in the garden to the early morning and late afternoon hours.  In addition to nearly daily efforts cleaning up after the raccoons, I've focused on planting and pruning.  While I've purchased a handful of plants recently, the majority I've planted are those I set aside in pots to wait out the dog days of summer.

The area here, on the north end of the back garden, formerly had 3 failing plants: Lycianthes ratonnetti, Mahonia 'Soft Caress', and Plectranthus ecklonii.  The rabbits contributed to the demise of the first 2 but water limitations didn't help any of them.  I replaced these with: an Agave 'Blue Glow', 3 Mangave 'Blue Dart', 5 Echeveria 'Blue Atoll', 3 Echeveria peacockii, and 3 Echeveria prolifica.

I'd had a variety of annuals serving as fillers in this bed alongside the backyard fountain.  I recently added 3 Echinops ritro ruthenicus and one Eryngium planum 'Blue Glitter' (top photo), as well as 3 Conoclinium coelestium (aka blue mistflower) and another Cistus 'Little Miss Sunshine' (bottom photo).  The assorted cages are there to prevent the masked demons from harming the plants before they're well rooted.

In the garden border just across from the last one, I planted a new-to-me Echium gentianoides 'Tajinaste' and the Fabiana imbricata (aka false heather) I've had sitting in a pot since late June

I'd planted a small Agave attenuata 'Ray of Light' in this bed adjacent to the house in the back garden last November.  A week ago I added 2 pups (one very small and one much larger) of the non-variegated form of the same species taken from my front garden.  I'm unsure whether I'll fill in around them with other plants or simply allow the existing Campanula to do so.

On the south end of the garden, I planted 2 severely root-bound Mangaves I'd had in pots next to a Mangave 'Mission to Mars' I'd moved there last year, edging the area with the groundcover Ruschia lineolata 'Nana' (aka dwarf carpet of stars).   Clockwise from the upper left of the collage are: Aeonium 'Jack Catlin' (first 2 photos), Mangave 'Tooth Fairy', M. 'Mission to Mars', and M. 'Painted Desert'.

As planned, I used Aeonium arboreum cuttings to replant an area at the end of one of the raised planters in my cutting garden ("before" photo on the left and "after" on the right).  The concrete pig was a gift from my husband many years ago so it stayed.  I added more Ruschia around the cuttings as groundcover.  Maybe it'll choke out the mint (left by the prior owner) but I doubt it even though I spent hours trying to dig it out (again).

More Aeonium cuttings and Ruschia went in here along the house in the area severely disrupted by our recent pipe replacement project.  I decided not to plant anything too precious here given the periodic need to access the irrigation controller.

As I wasn't happy with this section of the bromeliad-succulent bed I replanted after the new pipe was laid, I replaced the 2 tiny agave pups I'd originally placed here with one only slightly larger Agave ovatifolia 'Vanzie'

I put off pruning many plants during the hot summer months too but that activity is also now at the top of my agenda.

The Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' (aka gold breath of heaven) in the foreground is showing small signs of life after I cut out its dead foliage.  I'm inclined to replace it with another one to mirror its twin on the other side of the flagstone path but, while I'm trying to find one, I'm giving the original a chance to attempt a comeback.

A gardener trying to be helpful decided the shear the sides of Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' next to the Agave 'Jaws', leaving the shrub looking like it'd had a punk-style haircut.  My followup pruning effort left it with a more rounded form, which I hope will look more natural as it produces new foliage.

I'd allowed Leucadendron 'Safari Goldstrike' (to the right of Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream') to loom over the surrounding plants.  I cut several feet off the top yesterday to bring it more into proportion with its companions.

That's it for me for this week.  We're expecting temperatures to fall back into the pleasant zone over the next ten days.  There's even a small chance of rain on Saturday but I'm not putting much faith in that forecast.  I'll end the week with a pretty photo taken of the Port of Los Angeles yesterday morning.  Best wishes for a pleasant weekend.

All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Time for a giveaway!

I'm fairly certain I offered a giveaway from my garden earlier this year but, if that's so, I can't find documentation of it.  I've been thinking of putting out plants for neighbors to take since I accumulated a large number of Agave 'Stained Glass' bulbils in August thanks to Denise of A Growing Obsession.  However, I thought I'd hold off until the tiny plantlets developed roots and I had a wider range of material to offer.  This week I decided I couldn't put off harvesting the persimmons any longer so that triggered my decision to move ahead at last.  As it was, the critters (probably raccoons) have been breaking the persimmon trees' branches on a regular basis.

I'd already passed along a bag of 'Fuyu' persimmons (Diospyros kaki) to a friend but the 'Hachiya' variety was increasingly under siege by critters as well so I picked a bucket of both.  Fruit that had been chomped went directly into the green bin.  There's still 'Fuyu' fruit that looked too green to cut but the only 'Hachiya' fruit I left behind was that too high in the tree for me to reach.

With the persimmons ready to go, I assembled the other items I had to offer and printed information sheets to help neighbors decide what they might want to take home.  Yesterday morning I got everything laid out along the street.

I usually put all giveaway items next to the driveway entrance but, as the hedge running along the street is currently in full flower and buzzing with bees, I moved everything down the street to an area that allows passers-by to keep some distance between themselves and the bees

I've never seen this Xylosma congestum hedge as covered in flowers as it is now.  The chartreuse yellow flowers are a magnet for bees.

This is my little display

It includes 16 rooted variegated octopus agave bulbils (Agave vilmoriniana 'Stained Glass') in 4-inch pots.  I'm saving 2-3 for myself and plan to pass along others to friends.

Somehow, cuttings of Euphorbia 'Sticks on Fire' end up in most of my giveaways.  We removed one plant in our back garden because it was in my husband's way when he was working on our irrigation system problems.  (Those seem to be resolved at last.)

A friend told me that the 'Fuyu' persimmons in her local market are going for $4 apiece so I wasn't surprised to find people taking those but the 'Hachiya' fruit is moving at approximately the same rate.  I left small paper bags so people could carry them home more easily.

I finally finished planting out two areas with Aeonium arboreum cuttings I took earlier so in the late afternoon I added 2 buckets filled with extra cuttings next to everything else

There have been far fewer people walking the neighborhood of late but apparently people do brake for plants when driving through the area.  What I put out in the morning was half-gone by 6pm.  I'm not sure how much interest there will be in the Aeoniums but I thought I'd check rather than tossing all those cuttings directly into the green recycle bin. 

All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Going but not gone

Neither my dahlias nor my zinnias are going to last much longer.  In its current state, I figure that my cutting garden may have one more week of flowers to offer -  barring another heatwave, further plumbing issues, or an earthquake.  Actually, thanks to my husband's efforts, the irrigation system seems to be working like new which I suppose shouldn't be a surprise as we now have new pipes, new valves, and a dozen or more new sprinklers.  We got a little rain last week too, most of it in the form of two brief cloudbursts.  Unfortunately, that didn't help the mildew problem.  On the other hand, my additional raccoon deterrents have kept the little demons (mostly) at bay.

After last week's bounty, Dahlia 'Fairway Spur' produced a single new bloom this week.  Given several weeks, it might produce another flush of flowers but, this late in the season, that's not a given so I'll probably dig up those tubers and hope that, with an earlier start next year, I'll get more flowers from them.

Dahlia 'Summer's End' hasn't produced a profusion of flowers at any one time but it's steadily offered a bloom to two more weeks than not.  The ripening berries of a noID Cotoneaster that planted itself in my garden several years ago helped to tie the colors of the 2 dahlias together.

Back view: The flowers of Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' fit the blend too

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left:  Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' (stems left over from last week), Zinnia elegans 'Queen Red Lime', noID Cotoneaster, Dahlia 'Fairway Spur', D. 'Summer's End', and Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream'

 

I haven't made much use of Zinnia 'Carmine Rose' this year.  I love the flowers but I could never seem to find much to pair with them so this week, before I lose the rest to mildew, I decided to make them the centerpiece of their own vase.

Australian fuchsia, Correa 'Wyn's Wonder', complemented the Zinnias well.  I threw in a couple of stems of Angelonia to lighten up the arrangement a bit.

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left:  Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', noID Angelonia, Correa 'Wyn's Wonder', Grevillea 'Superb', Leptospermum 'Copper's Glow', and Zinnia elegans 'Carmine Rose'

 

For more IAVOM creations, check in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

 

All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Bloom Day - October 2022

I'm a day ahead of the official schedule for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day but I've been busy in the garden and had to fit my post in when I had the time to work on it.  My garden is in its late-summer doldrums, worsened perhaps due to two recent heatwaves and a two-week outdoor watering ban, but I realize my climate is still kinder than many so you may feel the floral display is greater than I perceive it to be.  Temperatures have plummeted in the past week but daytime highs remain in the mid-60sF to low-70sF, perfect for tackling garden chores that have been on hold much too long.

I'll start with the plants providing the brightest splashes of color right now.

Dahlias, clockwise from the upper left: 'Catching Fire', 'Lavender Ruffles', 'Enchantress', Fairway Spur', 'Summer's End', and 'Karma Prospero'

Felicia aethopica 'Tight & Tidy'

The ever dependable large-flowered Grevilleas 'Superb' and 'Peaches & Cream'

Pelargonium peltatums (aka ivy geraniums), refreshed by a little rain and cooler temperatures

Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum'

The vast majority of zinnias have already succumbed to mildew (which really means I just couldn't stand the appearance of their foliage and have pulled them up).  These 4, clockwise from the upper left, are still somewhat presentable: Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Deep Red', 'Benary's Giant Carmine Rose', 'Benary's Giant Purple', and 'Queen Red Lime'

Ripening fruit doesn't count as flowers but it does provide color at this time of year.  The 2 persimmon trees (Diospyros kaki 'Fuyu' and 'Hachiya') are bearing more heavily than ever before despite our drought conditions.

What would a Bloom Day be if there weren't a few surprises?  Here are mine:

An Agapanthus blooming in October is just plain weird

I had a difficult time determining the identity of the 5 bulbs whose foliage showed up in the middle of my backyard border.  I finally found record of planting 5 Amarine belladiva 'Emanuelle' (a cross between Nerine and Amaryllis belladonna) in April 2021, which is clearly what this is.  The first bloom is just opening now.

I cut this Argyranthemum frutescens 'White Butterfly' back hard about 6 weeks ago in lieu of pulling it up altogether but I was still surprised when it began to come back

Yucca 'Bright Star' blooms on its own schedule.  This bloom spike popped up during the last heatwave and is already spent.

A hedge of Xylosma congestum shrubs surrounds our garden on 3 sides.  I've seen sporadic blooms on a small scale before but this month the entire section of the hedge running alongside the street is in bloom.  The area is covered in bees.

A few other plants are getting an early start on their fall displays.

Barleria obtusa (aka bush violet) usually blooms in November but the shrubs in the back garden are already getting started

All the Australian fuchsias have started to bloom.  The flowers are hard to photograph even at the height of bloom.  From left to right are Correa 'Dusky Bells', 'Ivory Bells', and 'Wyn's Wonder'.

As usual, I'll close with the best of the rest organized by color in collages.

Clockwise from the upper left: berries of Auranticarpa rhombifolium (like tiny pumpkins) and a self-seeded Cotoneaster, Echeveria compressicaulis, Cuphea 'Vermillionaire', Gaillardia 'Spintop Copper Sun', Lantana 'Irene', and noID orange Lantana

Clockwise from the upper left: fresh blooms of Achillea 'Moonshine', noID Gaillardia, Grindelia camporum, Nemesia 'Banana Split', Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Lantana 'Lucky White', Zephyranthes candida, and noID Angelonia

Clockwise from the upper left: noID Angelonia, noID Duranta repens, D. 'Sapphire Showers', Salvia rosmarinus officianalis, noID Scaevola, and Trichostema 'Midnight Magic'.  I still can't get over the fact that rosemary is now classified as a Salvia.

Clockwise from the upper left: Arbutus 'Marina', Cuphea 'Honeybells', C. 'Starfire Pink', Polygala fruticosa (with yellow spider), Osteospermum 'Berry White', Alstroemeria 'Inca Lucky', and Leucadendron salignum 'Blush'

That's it for October's Bloom Day.  I'm babying a handful of dahlias and zinnias but it's almost certain that all these plants will be gone well before November's Bloom Day.  I'm looking forward to getting started on my cool season cutting garden, sowing seeds and planting plugs, but there probably won't be much to see there until early next year.

To see what's blooming in other parts of the US and various locations around the world, check in with Carol of May Dreams Gardens on October 15th.

All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party